LOS ANGELES — Three people are dead and multiple people are injured after a car driven by an elderly woman crashed into a grocery store in Los Angeles, blocks from UCLA, fire officials said Thursday.
The incident was reported at around 12:10 p.m. at the 99 Ranch Market grocery store on Westwood Boulevard near Rochester Avenue in the Westwood neighborhood.
Two of the people killed, who were declared dead at the scene, were outside the market when they were hit by the car, according to Los Angeles Fire Department Spokesperson Lyndsey Lantz.
When fire officials rushed to the scene, several people were trapped under the car and had to be extricated, Lantz added.
Among the injured, three patients are in serious condition while two others suffered minor injuries, the fire department clarified. All patients were taken to a hospital, the LAFD said.
Despite some misinformation that suggested the crash was intentional, LAFD Cpt. Eric Scott told reporters at the scene preliminary investigation suggests that it was an accident. He said the driver, in her 70s, may have been trying to avoid striking a bicyclist and crashed her silver sedan into the grocery store’s front door.
Law enforcement sources confirmed to NBC4 Investigates that drugs and alcohol were ruled out as the cause of the collision. The LAPD also said it was not an intentional collision.
